World War II Veterans

The NWMGS is working to compile information on every soldier from northwest Missouri that served in World War II. The goal is to publish a book in late 2015, preserve the historical information, and share the results online for future generations of researchers.

In January of 1944 the St. Joseph News-Press published a list of nearly 7000 soldiers that were from Buchanan County. In that publication, they also included a call for any missed names, and published them in the subsequent weeks, and included those from the surrounding areas. These lists will serve as the basis of our project. We hope to document what happened to each and every one of them, and need your help.

If you would like to contribute information on the World War II veteran in your family, please fill out the form and send it in. We understand the list is far from complete, so there may be hundreds or thousands of other servicemen to be added.

State Hospital #2

The NWMGS receives many questions about the State Hospital #2, as there were literally thousands of people who passed through her doors as either patients or employees. We are happy to offer assistance to those researching in this particular area. There is a process by which some records can be obtained, and a wonderful booklet about the hospital itself, which was produced by the St. Joseph Museums, Inc. The booklet is an easy read, 24 pages, soft cover and just $5. You can pick one up at the NWMGS library during any of our open hours. Not in the immediate area? We'll be happy to mail one to you ~ just include an extra $1 for shipping & handling.

Five Generation Photos

Do you have a five generation photo you'd like to share? If so, we would love to publish it in our Journal and share it with other members. Send the photo to admin@nwmogenealogy.com with each member clearly identified.

The Northwest Missouri Genealogical Society serves the counties of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway, and Worth in Missouri and several counties in Kansas.

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This Day In History

On this day in 1887, Anne Sullivan begins teaching six-year-old Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing after a severe illness at the age of 19 months. Under Sullivan’s tutelage, including her pioneering “touch teaching” techniques, the previously uncontrollable Keller flourished, eventually graduating from college and becoming an international lecturer and activist. Sullivan, later dubbed “the miracle worker,” remained Keller’s interpreter and constant companion until the older woman’s death in 1936.
Sullivan, born in Massachusetts in 1866, had firsthand experience with being handicapped: As a child, an infection impaired her vision. She then attended the Perkins Institution for the Blind where she learned the manual alphabet in order to communicate with a classmate who was deaf and blind. Eventually, Sullivan had several operations that improved...

He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning.
English Proverb

Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.
Unknown

In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.
Alex Haley, Roots

We are the children of many sires, and every drop of blood in us in its turn ... betrays its ancestor.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We've uncovered some embarrassing ancestors in the not-too-distant past. Some horse thieves, and some people killed on Saturday nights. One of my relatives, unfortunately, was even in the newspaper business.
Jimmy Carter
Former U.S. President

There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, and the other, wings.
Hodding S. Carter

Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.
Mark Twain